Block-encoded video, such as video encoded using techniques compatible with the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) (e.g., MPEG-2, and/or MPEG-4 video data, also in accordance with International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) Rec. H.264 (2003)), may suffer from discontinuities at block boundaries, particularly when encoded at low bit rates where large quantization errors may occur. Such discontinuities may appear in the reconstructed video frames as blocking artifacts (e.g., visible block edges, mosaic patterns, tiling effects, etc.), particularly in image regions that are smooth.
Deblocking filters implement methods such as variable length filtering and/or edge protection may reduce the magnitude of blocking artifacts to a visually-acceptable level. Further, this filtering is complex and it is difficult to deblock data of different block sizes.